Are 'agents of transformation' the new top tech worker?

There is an urgent need for organizations to identify and nurture “agents of transformation,” a new breed of technology professionals who can drive innovation and enable companies to thrive in the face of rapid technological advancement.

That is the message of a new report by application performance management provider AppDynamics. The report, based on interviews with 1,000 IT and business professionals in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and Australia, conducted by Insight Avenue in March and April 2018, found that only 22 percent of global technologists are very optimistic that their organization is ready for the rapid pace of technological change.

Man leaning against server locker in data center

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To keep up with these increasing demands, organizations will need IT leaders who can build agile technology platforms to meet the ever-changing requirements of the business, the report said. These leaders will be the agents of transformation who possess the personal skills and attributes needed to drive innovation, improve user engagement, and accelerate business outcomes, it said.

However, the report showed that today only 9 percent of global technologists can be identified as agents of transformation. To remain competitive over the next 10 years, organizations will need at least 45 percent of their technologists to operating as agents of transformation, the report said.

Without such agents, the report said, organizations will face an inability to drive or complete innovation initiatives (according to 35 percent of the respondents); competitive or financial repercussions (33 percent); a detrimental impact on customer experience (30 percent); difficulties recruiting new talent (35 percent); and a lack of positive role models for existing talent to emulate (31 percent).